Short story, an utter disappointment. Long story, I was expecting a film about a group of obviously innocent lads caught in the wrong place at the wrong time, to be mistaken for enemy Taliban fighters.We start with them talking about going to Pakistan about wedding plans, and going to Afghanistan to "help". No mention of how 9-11 has kicked everything off in the country and war is coming, indicating that this is probably a VERY stupid idea at best, and aiding and abetting the enemy at worst.The lads hang around with a group of armed men, obviously not charity workers, who "tragically" (according to the way it is shown) get killed by air strikes and are all captured.I was nonplussed, these guys are obviously not giving a straight story. And then they get captured and interrogated. They aren't treated very kindly, but nothing serious. Certainly no back-rubs and massages, but not the torture I was expecting.All that happens now is they're kept in slightly uncomfortable conditions and get interrogated a bit more before being released. That's it. No brutal beatings, electroshocks, not even a friggin water-boarding! A guard even kills a spider to protect one of the prisoners!The fact that two of the lads admitted to going to jihad camps and learning to handle explosives and rifles shows the audacity of the stupid left wing filmmakers here. The last one refused to take a lie test, which shows he is clearly hiding something. And then that virtually nothing else happens to them, well I cannot express my opinions adequately. For those talking "evidence", the lads actions prove in spades their guilt. And they were not enemy combatants so it is hardly as if their rights were infringed by anything other than their own stupidity and further guilt.The only highlight of the entire wasteful film was the wonderful Riz Ahmed doing a rap number in his cage to the amusement of a guard, but that was because he was Riz Ahmed, not because of the absent quality of this pathetic film.

The main issue I have with this film is that it presents itself as a documentary. It is not a documentary and this is not journalism. It is entertainment. That immediately destroys all credibility in the eyes of those who have an unflinching religious loyalty to whatever national or Christian symbol you want to use.When I sat down to watch this I thought perhaps I would get to see a film that would make even the most die hard American Good Old Boy sit down and really start asking some questions. Unfortunately it is just going to add more fuel to their self righteous fires. Through an hour and a half I saw ONE scene where a member of the United States military acted like a reasonable human being. I mean come on guys. This kind of film is not going to change any minds.If you are honestly concerned with educating people this is not the film to show them.

This is the reality of the dictatorship that we live under today. George Bush and his neocons have completely discarded the rule of law and are engaging in torture to pursue their evil ends.This documentary shows what can happen not only to three Brits who were traveling to a wedding, but to anyone who lives in America under the present circumstances.The military, who are not to blame as they were just ignorant rednecks following orders, are made to be cartoon characters. The "interregators" are just like police everywhere, they lie and deceive just to get someone to confess. The fact that they have been unable to get a confession shows just how ridiculous they are. Bellieve me, I would have confessed to buggery under those conditions.Once we remove Bush from office in another 664 days, then Guantanamo should be closed and leveled to the ground so that not one stone sits atop another. It is too much to hope that Bush and his cohorts in crime would ever be borough to trial and punished as the war criminals they are for this sad chapter in our history.

Road is the story of three British citizens of Pakistani descent who through a series of accidents and bad coincidences wind up in Taliban-held Afghanistan during the British-American bombing and occupation in the post-911 months of 2001.Ruhel Ahmed, Asif Iqbal and Shafiq Rasul are 20-year-old devout Moslem men living in England who travel with their friend Monir to Pakistan to attend Asif's wedding. After spending a few days of shopping and sightseeing, the friends attend a mosque with Asif's Pakistani cousin, Zahid.The Imam inspires them to volunteer to travel to Afghanistan and provide humanitarian aid presumably to the refugees being created in the civil strife with the Taliban on the eve of the invasion The friends decide to go to Kabul "to help." The story finds them set loose in the chaos of the invasion after the bus driver hits and kills a man, then leaves them.They try to arrange for a ride back to Pakistan, instead the ride takes them north to a Taliban stronghold. The stronghold falls and they are taken prisoner; they lose track of Monir, and he is not heard from again. They herd the three onto trucks, and the nightmare truly begins: Asif and Shafiq are sent to Guantanamo, Zahid is imprisoned in Pakistan.It's a hard movie to watch with the reenactments of the cruel treatment born by the "boys." What's always puzzled me is how did we know these detainees were Al Qaeda enablers, instrumental in the attacks of 911, sworn enemies of every good and decent American thing? The movie provides a news clip of King George saying, "The only thing I know for certain is that these are some bad people." Well we've seen the certainty of The Decider before, e.g. weapons of mass destruction and Saddam's relationship with Al Qaeda. According to MSNBC sources, as reported in Wikipedia: As of November 2006, out of 775 detainees brought to Guantanamo, approximately 340 have been released, leaving 435 detainees. Of those 435, 110 are labeled as ready for release. Of the other 325, only "more than 70" will face trial, the Pentagon says. That leaves about 250 who may be held indefinitely....For my complete review of this movie and for other movie and book reviews, please visit my site TheCoffeeCoaster.com.Brian Wright Copyright 2007